Small Community Air Service Development Program

The Small Community Program was established by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. No. 106-181) and reauthorized by the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Pub. L. No. 108-176) and subsequently the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-95) (FAA 2012). The program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities in order to help them enhance their air service. The Department provides this assistance in the form of monetary grants that are disbursed on a reimbursable basis. Authorization for this program is codified at 49 U.S.C. 41743.The Small Community Program is authorized to receive appropriations under 49 U.S.C. 41743(e)(2), as amended. Appropriations are provided for this program for award selection in FY 2015 pursuant to FAA 2012 and the FY 2015 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 113-235). The Department has up to $5.5 million available for FY 2015 grant awards to carry out this program. There is no limit on the amount of individual awards, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the selected proposals. In past years, the Department's individual grant sizes have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $1.6 million.